The Country Music Association has decided that three heads are better than one by choosing Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan and NFL great Peyton Manning to host this year’s CMA Awards.
The 58th annual event will air live on ABC on 11/20 and stream the next day on Hulu, with Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena once again serving as host venue. Robert Deaton will exec-produce the broadcast, Alan Carter will direct and Jon Macks will serve as head writer.
“Hosting the CMA Awards is such an honor and it’s crazy when I realize this is my 4th year back," said Bryan. "Peyton and I have really worked to build off each other and now adding Lainey to the mix will just bring another fun element to the night. Celebrating country music never gets old to me.”
Morgan Wallen leads the field with seven nominations, including Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. Cody Johnson and 21-time CMA winner Chris Stapleton are each up for five awards, followed closely by Nashville newbie Post Malone and reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Wilson with four apiece.
On 9/25, BMI opened its Nashville doors to celebrate Parker McCollum scoring his fourth consecutive chart topper with “Burn It Down.” McCollum is the first MCA Nashville artist to see all of his singles reach #1 on the charts.
The platinum-certified track, also nominated for CMA Song of the Year, reunites McCollum with his co-writers, The Love Junkies, which includes 2024 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame nominee Liz Rose (BMI), 3X Grammy-winning songwriter Lori McKenna (BMI) and 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Hillary Lindsey (ASCAP).
The event, hosted by BMI and ASCAP, also saw Studio Bank’s Ron Cox present a donation to Folds of Honor, an org supporting the families of fallen military personnel and first responders. BMI’s Mason Hunter emceed the celebration and surprised McCollum with three BMI Million-Air Awards for “Handle on You,” “Pretty Heart” and “To Be Loved by You,” each surpassing 2m broadcast performances.
Pictured celebrating our lack of attendance are (l-r) back row: Concord’s Brad Kennard, Liz Rose Music’s Dave Pacula, Hunter, MCA Nashville’s Miranda McDonald, ASCAP’s Mike Sistad, Warner Chappell’s Jessi Stevenson, Creative Nation’s Emily Furman; front row: McKenna, Rose, McCollum, Lindsey and Cox.
Photo: Aubrey Wise for BMI
SoundExchange has tabbed Randy Travis as the recipient of the organization’s Music Fairness Award, which honors his tireless efforts to protect creators by pressing to modernize copyright law through passage of American Music Fairness Act.
Travis, who suffers from aphasia, still managed to appear before Congress earlier this year alongside his wife Mary and SoundExchange President and CEO Michael Huppe to push for passage of the act. AMFA would require terrestrial broadcasters in the United States to pay artists royalties when their songs are played on the air.
Huppe said “Randy Travis is a music icon and a courageous leader, willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that everyone – from music fans to lawmakers – is aware of the inequities suffered by creators for more than a century. We are honored to present Randy with the Music Fairness Award.”
Speaking on behalf of her husband, Mary Travis said “Thank you to SoundExchange for recognizing Randy for his advocacy. He loves country radio and everyone in it, he also loves his fellow creators. What he is advocating for here is an equitable solution to better align artists, labels, and radio going forward under the changing environment of the music industry.”
Pictured at the award presentation are (L to R) SoundExchange Associate Director of Artist & Industry Relations Marc Rucker, SoundExchange President and CEO Michael Huppe, Randy Travis, and Mary Travis.
Miranda Lambert is going to the dogs – literally – by adding a livestream component to her annual Music for Mutts benefit concert, which hits Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater on 10/5.
For this 15th edition of the benefit, Miranda will be joined by HARDY, Lukas Nelson and what she describes as “very special surprise guests.” The show, presented by Tractor Supply, will stream free-of-charge on the Facebook and YouTube pages of Lambert and MuttNation, as well as on the Nugs.net website and YouTube channel. T-Mobile is her partner in the streaming effort.
Miranda, who dropped her most recent album, Postcards From Texas (Republic/Big Loud), on 9/13, said “I’m thrilled that T-Mobile has made it possible for me to share the evening with my fans and all the animal lovers who couldn’t be at the show in person. It’s going to be a great night that I’ve been looking forward to for months. We know that being able to share our love of music and animals with a wider audience will mobilize many more people to foster and adopt shelter pets.”
Limited tickets to the show, which is slated to run from 8:30 to 10:30 pm [CT] on 10/5, are available at LiveNation.com.
Big Machine Label Group has appointed Andi Brooks as director of streaming for The Valory Music Co. (VMC). She'll report to VMC President George Briner and SVP of Digital & Promotion Ashley Sidoti. In her new position, Brooks will collaborate with VMC’s streaming partners to bolster both new releases and the existing catalog.
“We’re excited to have Andi join The Valory Music Co. team,” Briner said. “Her enthusiasm and passion for music, along with her desire and drive to be the best in the streaming world makes her a great addition.”
Brooks comes from Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment, where she was the director of Southwest promotion and marketing. She joined BMLG Records —which changed its name to Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment earlier this year—in 2019. Previous roles include Morning Show co-host at WWQM in Madison, Wisconsin.
VMC’s artist roster includes Thomas Rhett, Brantley Gilbert, Justin Moore, Sheryl Crow, Conner Smith and Mackenzie Carpenter. They all want nothing to do with us.
Next-gen music company Firebird has announced a partnership with.Hills Artist Management, the firm behind such rising stars as Grandson and LANY.
The teaming brings Hills’ clients into Firebird’s impressive stable of more than 1,000 artists who take advantage of the company’s reach in traditional endeavors like touring and recording as well as emerging digital platforms from gaming to AI. Hills joins such Firebird partners as Red Light Management, Mick Management, Transgressive and many more.
Rupert Lincoln, CEO of Hills, says “Our mission goes beyond simply supporting an artist’s core business; it's about deeply understanding and growing their audiences with the sharpest minds in the industry. Firebird has cultivated something truly exceptional, and we are excited to take the next steps in our journey with them.”
Firebird Executive Chairman Nat Zilkha echoes that enthusiasm, saying “Rupert and the team at Hills are a strong force in the industry and have curated an impressive and diverse artist roster. Together, we’re going to provide the scale, expertise, and influence needed to create long lasting, impactful, and highly profitable careers for the entire roster.”
The members of Midland are raising their glasses in celebration of the 5x platinum certification of their smash single, “Drinkin’ Problem.” The Big Machine-backed trio marked the occasion ahead of a performance at the Grand Ole Opry on 9/17, where they also introduced songs from their new Barely Blue album.
Midland members Jess Carson, Mark Wystrach and Cameron Duddy were joined at the fete by (l-r) Allison Jones (BMLG), Todd Ramey (Sandbox Entertainment), Scott Borchetta (BMLG), Erik Powell (BMR), Kris Lamb (BMR), Matt Graham (Range Media) and Jordy Dettmer (Range Media).
The honky tonk-meets-Laurel Canyon trio will bring their Get Lucky tour to The Ritz in Raleigh, N.C. on 9/26. They can celebrate all of these successes by lighting up some of their Palomino Longneck cigars, which Kingmakers introduced this week.
HITS is sure that the celebration was keynoted by Graham, who has let our tequila supply get perilously low.
BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville has signed country crooner and bona fide television star Blake Shelton. His résumé boasts 28 #1 singles, 11b global streams, 52m singles sold and 13m albums sold. He has collected numerous awards, including CMA’s for Entertainer of the Year and five consecutive wins as Male Vocalist of the Year.
Frontline Recordings President Jon Loba called Shelton "one of the biggest personalities and presences in media." He continued, "We are so excited he’s joining the BMG Global family and cannot wait to share his incredible new music with the world. He’s been laser-focused on delivering some of the best of his career and it shows."
Loba then revealed they'd been dancing around the office to Shelton's new tunes in celebration of the deal. We, on the other hand, have two left feet.
Pictured just seconds away from doing the two-step are (front row, l-r) Loba, Shelton and BMG's Peter Strickland and (back row, l-r) BMG's JoJamie Hahr, Katie Kerkhover and Quinn Bauducco.
